The Opening Faceoff: The nationally 10th-ranked
Ferris State University men's ice hockey team will go up against
the Ohio State University Buckeyes this weekend (Jan. 29-30) in a
two-game Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) series at
OSU's Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The puck will drop
for both Friday (Jan. 29) and Saturday (Jan. 30) contests at 7:05
p.m. (EST).

Bulldog Hockey Ticket Information: Tickets
for Ferris State hockey's four remaining 2009-10 home
regular-season contests can be purchased by contacting the FSU
Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. The FSU Athletics Ticket
Office's normal hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET)
weekdays. Single-game tickets may also be purchased by contacting
Star Tickets at 1-800-585-3737 or online at Star Tickets website:
www.startickets.com.
Tickets are also available at all Meijer store locations in West
Michigan and at the Student Services Office in the FSU Rankin
Student Center.

The Radio Broadcast: Both of this
weekend's CCHA contests at Ohio State will be broadcast live by
radio station Big Country WWBR-100.9 FM with Dominic
Hennig calling the action.

Video Webcast: A live video and audio webcast
for both of this weekend's games at Ohio State is available through
the Big Ten Network for a charge of $2.99 per game. The
contests can be accessed on the Big Ten Network's Website at
www.bigtennetwork.com.

The Records:Ferris State improved to
17-7-2 overall and 11-5-2-2 (third place) in the CCHA this season
with a home-and-home league series split against Michigan last
weekend (Jan. 22-23). The Bulldogs dropped a 2-0
decision to the Wolverines last Friday (Jan. 22) at UM's Yost Ice
Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., before registering a 3-2 victory in
Saturday's (Jan. 23) matchup at FSU's Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big
Rapids, Mich. Ferris State is presently ranked 10th this week
(Jan. 25) in both the U.S. College Hockey Online.com and
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine's polls. The Bulldogs
are listed 12th by Inside College Hockey.com for the
second consecutive week. FSU concluded the 2008-09 season at
12-19-7 overall while compiling a ninth-place 9-14-5-2 CCHA mark
(25 pts.).

Ohio
State is 10-13-1 overall and 8-9-1-1 (ninth
place) in the CCHA standings after splitting a two-game league set
versus nationally-ranked Michigan State last weekend (Jan. 22-23)
at MSU's Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich. The Buckeyes
suffered a 5-2 loss to the Spartans in last Friday's (Jan. 22) tilt
before skating to a 4-2 win over Ohio State in Saturday's (Jan. 23)
series finale. OSU posted a 23-15-4 overall record last
season, which included a fifth-place 13-11-4-(3) CCHA mark.
The Buckeyes dropped an 8-3 decision to 2009 national champion
Boston University in the first round (3/28) of the NCAA Northeast
Regional Tournament at Manchester, N.H.

The Coaches:Ferris State - Bob
Daniels (Michigan State, 1982), 18th season,
286-326-65 (.470) - (24-27-4 vs. Ohio State - 7-16-1
Away, 17-10-3 Home, 0-1-0 Neutral). Daniels has the
distinction of being the all-time winningest coach in Ferris State
history. He was honored as the 2002-03 CCHA Coach of the Year and
the Inside College Hockey (INCH) Coach of the Year, but
the crowning highlight of his coaching career was being chosen as
the recipient of the 2003 Spencer Penrose Award as the ACHA's
Division I National Hockey Coach of the Year. He was among three
finalists for the 2007-08 CCHA Coach of the Year Award.

Ohio State - John
Markell (Bowling Green State, 1979), 15th
season, 275-262-51 (.511) - (24-21-3 vs. Ferris State).
Markell has led the Buckeyes to six NCAA Tournament appearances and
boasts seven 20-or-more win seasons during his tenure at OSU.
He was the 1997-98 CCHA Coach of the Year and a runner-up for
national coach of the year honors.

The All-Time
Series: Ferris State and Ohio State will
meet for the 112th and 113th times this weekend as the
Buckeyes have a 56-43-12 series lead. FSU is 14-33-8 on
the road, 29-22-4 at home, and 0-1-0 at neutral sites against Ohio
State. The Bulldogs swept this season's earlier series
(Nov. 20-21) on their home ice, winning 8-1 and 6-5 in overtime
over the Buckeyes. Ferris State is 8-1-1 in its last 10
contests with Ohio State, which includes a 2-0 road mark. The
Bulldogs captured a pair of victories (4-0 and 4-2) in their last
appearances at OSU, which occurred on Nov. 2 and 4. Seven of
the last 10 meetings have been decided by two goals or more with
Ferris State producing a 6-1-0 mark in those contests. FSU is
5-15-3 all-time in January encounters versus the Buckeyes, which
includes a 2-7-1 away ledger.

Hockey Day In Michigan: This Saturday
(Jan. 30) represents the fifth annual 'Hockey Day In
Michigan'. The CCHA and Fox Sports
Detroit created the inaugural 'Hockey Day In Michigan' in
2006. The grassroots initiative was adopted
nationwide in 2007 by USA Hockey and is now part of the
national governing body's celebration of the sport known as 'Hockey
Weekend Across America' to be held this weekend (Jan. 29-31).
Michigan has over 61,000 players, coaches and officials registered
with USA Hockey, which is the second most of any state in the
nation. To get involved or to have your event included in the list
of happenings around the state on CCHA.com, contact the CCHA at
hockeyday@ccha.com or call the CCHA Office at (248)
888-0600.

Successful Season: Ferris State's 17-7-2 record
(.692) this season through its first 26 contests represents the
third best start in the program's history. The mark trails
only the 1979-80 squad's 20-6-0 start and the record-setting
2002-03 team's 18-7-1 record. The 2002-03 squad went on to
register a school-best 31-10-1 overall record as the Bulldogs
claimed the school's first-ever CCHA regular-season championship
title along with making the program's first-ever appearance in the
NCAA Tournament.

Clutch Skater: Junior defenseman Zach
Redmond (Traverse City) produced his third game-winning
goal this season in the 3-2 victory over Michigan last Saturday
(1/23) on a power-play lamplighter with 23.4 seconds left in the
game. His three game-winning tallies this season in 26
outings represents a career season high after posting the decisive
goal at Cansius (10/9) and at Notre Dame (1/9) this season.
In his previous two seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09), Redmond recorded
one game-winning goal in a combined 75 contests.

Hobey Baker Award Candidate: Senior left wing
Blair Riley (Kamloops, British Columbia) is a
2009-10 season candidate for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial
Award which is awarded annually to college hockey's top
player. Riley is among 70 candidates for the Award and the
popular fan-voting phase is currently open at the Hobey Baker
website - www.hobeybaker.com. Click on
the Vote for
Hobey Baker icon and follow the prompts to make a
selection from this year's outstanding group of college hockey
players. Riley leads the Bulldogs in points (26) and
goals (16) this season to date while also presently tying for
second-place honors among the CCHA's top points producers in
overall scoring.

Productive Senior Line: FSU's top forward line
of seniors Blair Riley (16-12=28), Casey
Haines (6-16=22), and Cody Chupp
(7-15=22) have combined to generate 30.8% (72-234) of the Bulldogs'
points production and 34.5% (29-84) of its goal output this
campaign.

Mighty Casey: Senior center Casey
Haines (Indiana, Pa.) is enjoying his most productive
season at Ferris State this campaign with career bests in points
(22), assists (16), and game-winning goals (three) thru 26
contests. Haines' six goals this season matches his career
season-high set a season ago in 38 appearances.

Stating His Case: Senior defenseman
Matt Case (Plymouth, Minn.) has scored twice in
his last three games with three points (2-1=3) during that span
following a second-period tally against Michigan last Saturday
(1/23). His three goals this season in 26 contests is one shy
of equalling his career single-season best four markers set in 29
outings for the 2006-07 campaign.

Eight Is Great: Junior goaltender Pat
Nagle's (Bloomfield) win against Michigan last Saturday
(1/23) represented his eighth victory (8-5-1) this season in 15
outings, which equals his previous career season-best (8-7-0) set
in 16 2007-08 season contests.

Opponents See Red:Zach
Redmond's 21 points (5-16=21) in 26 games this season is
three shy of equalling his career single-season best 24 points
(3-21=24) set in 38 contests for the 2008-09 season. Redmond,
FSU's 2008-09 Most Valuable Player, has totaled 64 career points
(14-50=64) in 101 contests and is eight points shy of tying Keith
Sergott (1992-96; 72 career points) for 12th place in career points
among FSU defensemen. He needs four more assists to tie Clark
Davies (1986-90; 54 career assists) for 12th place on the Bulldogs'
blueline leaders list.

Looking Ahead: Ferris State returns home
next weekend, Feb. 5-6, for a two-game league series against the
Northern Michigan Wildcats at FSU's Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big
Rapids, Mich. The series gets underway Friday (Feb. 5) at
7:05 p.m. (EST) before concluding Saturday (Feb. 6) at 7:35 p.m.
(EST) as a result of the
finale being televised live on FS Detroit
Plus.

CCHA Preseason Polls: Ferris State was picked
to finish eighth in the 2009-10 CCHA Coaches Preseason Poll with 50
points. The Bulldogs received 314 points in the media poll to
place ninth among the 12 conference teams. Points were awarded
on a 12-11-10-9, etc., basis. League coaches ranked the CCHA teams,
excluding their own school, in the order they predicted the regular
season will end.

Head of The Class: Senior Cody
Chupp (Big Rapids) is a candidate for the 2009-10 Lowe's
Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a
student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and
have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom,
character, community, and competition. The 20 candidates will
be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season and
those 10 individuals will be placed on the official ballot.
Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to
media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best
exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character,
community, and competition. Lowe's, an official Corporate
Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner at
the 2010 NCAA Men's Frozen Four to be held in early April at Ford
Field in Detroit, Mich.

2010 Frozen Four : Tickets for the 2010 NCAA
Division I Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four scheduled for April 8 and
10, 2010 at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., are available for
purchase by visiting www.NCAA.com/frozenfour, www.ticketmaster.com
or by calling 1 (800) 745-3000. Each all-session ticket
includes the two semifinal games on Thursday, April 8, and the
national championship game on Saturday, April 10. Tickets are
available in four price ranges - $40, $79, $119 and $189. For
more information on the 2010 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, visit www.NCAA.com/frozenfour.

New Points System: The Central Collegiate
Hockey Association announced that a regulation time or overtime win
will be worth three points in the league standings. An
overtime tie and a shootout win will be worth one point
apiece. A loss in either the regulation or overtime period
will receive no points.

Bulldog Hockey Twitbook: All Ferris State
Bulldog Hockey fans now can have access to additional information
on the 2009-10 team via Twitter at twitter.com/FerrisHockey.

On The Internet: Ferris State University
Athletics' official web site can be found at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com.
The site features information on all of FSU's varsity athletics
programs including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more.